Current Economic Issues for Agriculture and Food Winter Term 2016
Lec B1: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 11:00 - 11:50, ED 129
Instructor: Scott Jeffrey
531 General Services Building Telephone: 492-5470
e-mail: [email protected] Office Hours:
Wednesdays 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.; otherwise by appointment; I will try to post a weekly schedule outside my office door and on eClass. Please note that I do not usually have office hours on Tuesday/Thursday.
Course Description:
The course builds upon the topics and principles from introductory microeconomics and (to a lesser extent) macroeconomics. In AREC 200, these principles are addressed in a more rigorous fashion, and are applied to issues of relevance to the agribusiness and food industry. Areas of study include business management decisions, marketing and demand analysis, trade,
government intervention in agriculture, and natural resource and environmental issues.
Highlighted in the discussion is the role of relevant groups within the agricultural sector, including producers, consumers, government and other agencies/institutions (e.g., marketing boards). AREC 200 is a lecture-based course, with student group projects being used to reinforce and extend lecture material.
Prerequisite: ECON 101 Course Objectives:
Upon completion of AREC 200, students should:
T have an enriched and rigorous understanding of principles and concepts related to microeconomics and macroeconomics;
T be able to assess and discuss agricultural issues and problems in terms of economic concepts, and have an appreciation for the role of economics in agriculture; and
T be able to quantify economic concepts and models, and have an appreciation for the role of quantitative methods in economic analysis.
T have improved group management skills.
Grades:
Final course grades will be determined based on the following course requirements, with associated percentage “weights”:
Group Project 25%
Assignments (two) 5%
Midterm Exam #1 15%
Midterm Exam #2 15%
Final Exam 40%
Total 100%
Course grades will be assigned based on absolute performance standards with the student’s overall course score (out of 100%) as the relevant performance measure, although consideration will be given to the overall class distribution of scores. Please note, however, that grades are NOT determined using a “curved” grading system. Further details will be provided in the introductory lecture and will be posted on the course eClass site.
Course Text:
There is no required text for AREC 200. Lecture material will be supported through class notes and other materials. Students looking for additional resources to supplement lecture materials have the following options:
e-text
Barkley, A. and P.W. Barkley. 2012. Principles of Agricultural Economics. Routledge : New York, NY.
Electronic copies of this text for purchase are available through the publisher’s website. A link to this website will be provided on the course eClass site. Please note that paper copies of the text can also be ordered through the publisher’s website.
Reserve Materials
Examinations:
There will be two midterm exams, which are tentatively scheduled as follows:
Midterm #1 Friday, February 5 , 11:00 - 11:50 a.m.th Midterm #2 Friday, March 11 , 11:00 - 11:50 a.m.th
The location(s) for these two exams are TBD. Further details will be provided closer to the exam dates.
The final examination is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, April 19 at 9:00 a.m.
Students who are unable to write an examination because of illness or any other legitimate reason, should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make alternative arrangements. The usual university regulations apply in these situations, as per Section 23.3 in the U of A
Academic Calendar (see web address below). Specifically:
- students unable to write a midterm examination due to legitimate reasons will have the option of a) writing a make-up examination to be held within one week of the originally scheduled examination, or b) have the percentage weight allotted to the missed midterm exam added to the percentage weight allotted to the final exam;
- students unable to write the final examination due to legitimate reasons must apply for a deferred examination, as per Section 23.3(2) in the U of A Academic Calendar (see web address below).
Information about term and final exams is provided in Section 23.5 (including deferred exams in Section 23.5.6) in the U of A Academic Calendar (see web address below).
Webpage link for Section 23.3 in the University of Alberta Academic Calendar
http://www.registrar.ualberta.ca/calendar/Regulations-and-Information/Academic-Regulation/23.3.html#23.3
Webpage link for Section 23.5 in the University of Alberta Academic Calendar
http://www.registrar.ualberta.ca/calendar/Regulations-and-Information/Academic-Regulation/23.5.html#23.5
Assignments:
There will be two (2) assignments to be completed for the course. Assignments will involve applications of the concepts introduced in class and provide an opportunity to obtain feedback with respect to the degree of understanding for course topics. Students are encouraged to interact with each other and make use of available resources when completing assignments. However, each student must hand in an individually written assignment.
Assignments will be posted on eClass at least one week prior to the due date. Assignments should be submitted either in class or in the instructor’s mailbox (GSB 515) by 11:00 a.m. on the due date, to be considered “on time”. Late submissions will be penalized, at a rate of 25% of the assignment value for the 1 day and an additional 10% per day following that.st
TENTATIVE Assignment Schedule
Assignment # “Release” Date Due Date
1 January 20 January 29
2 February 3 February 12
This assignment schedule is tentative, and is based on the instructor’s previous experience in this course. Exact dates may vary, depending on the timing of specific course topics.
Group Project:
This is an important component of AREC 200. Students will be organized into groups for the purpose of completing a project on a topic of significance for the Canadian agriculture and food industry. Each group will submit a) a written paper that provides a summary of the issue, economic concepts and empirical analysis and b) an “online poster” that will be posted on the course eClass site.
Groups will be given a description of the issue and some background reading that might prove helpful in preparing the presentation. It is assumed that each group will search out additional reference material as well as undertaking or summarizing empirical analysis for the presentation.
Each AREC 200 student will also be required to a) evaluate and grade one other group’s online poster (to be assigned by the course instructor), and b) submit a brief written commentary on two other groups’ online posters.
Groups will be asked to assess member contributions to the group activity and marks will be allocated to group members on the basis of the group assessment.
The written paper and online poster are due by noon on Friday, April 1. Grading and commentary on other groups’ online posters are due by noon on Monday, April 11.
Please note the following:
T Students will be assigned to groups by the course instructor.
T Additional information about the group projects will be provided in class by the instructor (later in January).
Course “Policy” Concerning Calculators and other Electronic Devices:
Calculators may be allowed for use during one or both exams, depending on the material to be covered. Explicit guidance will be provided before the exam. No other electronic devices are allowed during AREC 200 exams. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of cell phones, tablets, computers, etc.
Recording of Lectures:
Recording is permitted only with the prior written consent of the professor or if recording is part of an approved accommodation plan.
Course eClass Site:
There is a eClass site for AREC 200. It can be accessed from the following web address:
https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/portal/. This site will be used for a variety of purposes, including providing access to information such as:
T electronic copies of course lecture materials (outlines, notes) T copies of old course exams and some answer keys
T links to supplementary course resources for AREC 200 T course scores for term work
T communication with students (course announcements, etc.) T resources for the group project.
Files placed on the eClass site by the course instructor will usually be in pdf format. In order to read files in this format you will require Adobe Reader software. A free copy of the Adobe Reader software may be downloaded from the Adobe website (http://get.adobe.com/reader/).
Code of Student Behaviour at the University of Alberta
“The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.governance.ualberta.ca) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in
suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence.
Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.” (GFC 29 SEP 2003)
For more information, refer to the Appendix A in the print version of the University of Alberta Calendar, or the following page on the University of Alberta website:
http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/CodesofConductandResidenceCommunityStandards/CodeofStudentBehaviour.aspx
NOTE:
“Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.” (GFC 29 SEP 2003).
Course Outline:
! Introduction
" Scope of this Course
" Economics: What and why?
" Economics versus Agricultural Economics
" Microeconomics versus Macroeconomics
" Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Sector
" supply/demand; transaction costs ...
" producer and consumer welfare
! Agricultural Production and Supply
" production functions
" profit max
" output supply and input demand
" elasticities
" productivity and technical change
! Consumer Choice
" utility max with budget constraint
" demand
" information and advertising
" elasticities
! Markets and Prices
" definition and applications
" producer and consumer welfare
" margins
" farm-retail spread
" market structure
! Agricultural Trade
